Welcome
to this week's edition of the Computer Kindergarten Newsletter.
Today is Sunday, May 31, 2009
In this Issue:
Special Feature: How to Avoid
Spyware
Tips & Tricks: Twenty Five Most
Important Rules of Email Etiquette:
21. When in Doubt, End Emails with "Thanks"
Featured Computer Term: Undo
This Week's Topic: Speed Up a Slow
Computer – Disable Indexing Services
Question: Internet Abbreviations
Websites of Interest: How to Garden
Guide; Free Shipping; Public Radio Fan; Shutterfly; Fifteen
Ways to Save Money Online: 8. Shop
Online, Online Shopping with Comparison Shopping Search Engines
**************************************************************
Special Feature: How to Avoid
Spyware
by Peter May of How Stuff Works
http://www.howstuffworks.com
The
brief history of personal computing is replete with advances in productivity,
processing power and entertainment. From word processing to e-mail to the World
Wide Web, computer technology has forever changed the way we work and play. As
with any new technology, however, these advances have also provided new methods
for criminals to separate us from our money. One of those methods is spyware.
According
to a number of sources, the first use of the term spyware occurred in a 1994
posting that made light of Microsoft's business model. Later, the term was used to describe devices used for spying, such as small
cameras and microphones. In 2000, a press release from security software
provider Zone Labs used the current meaning of spyware for the first time and it's been used that way ever since.
Spyware
is software that resides on a computer and sends information to its creator. That information may include surfing habits, system details or, in
its most dangerous form, passwords and login information for critical
applications such as online banking. Many spyware programs are more
annoying than dangerous, serving up pop-up ads or gathering e-mail addresses
for use in spam campaigns. Even those programs, however, can cost you valuable
time and computing resources.
Often,
spyware comes along with a free software application, such as a game or a
supposed productivity booster. Once it's downloaded to
your computer, the functional element of the software works exactly as
promised, while the information-gathering system sets up shop behind the scenes
and begins feeding your personal data back to headquarters.
In
many cases, the hidden activities of the software are clearly
described in the end-user license agreement (EULA) that is displayed
during the installation process. This protects the developer from potential
legal action because they can prove you knew (or should have known) that the
program included this functionality when you installed it. Most of us, however,
don't read EULAs because they are long, boring and
written in hard-to-understand legalese. As further proof that there's a software application for everything these days,
you can now obtain software that will read EULAs for you and display a warning
if keywords or phrases indicate there's a spyware risk.
In
our next newsletter:
Other
Types of Malware
**************************************************************
Tips & Tricks: Twenty Five Most Important Rules of Email Etiquette: 21. When in Doubt, End Emails with
"Thanks"
This
article is part of our ongoing series on Email Etiquette. With the help of Heinz Tschabitscher from about.com, we are taking an in depth
look at email etiquette. To read
previous editions of this series, please visit our newsletter archives:
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/etiquette.html
The
rules of email etiquette are not rules as much as they are guidelines that help
avoid mistakes (like offending someone when you don't
mean to) and misunderstandings (like being offended when you're not meant to).
These
core rules of email etiquette help us communicate better via email.
When
in Doubt, End Emails with "Thanks"
Should
you write "bye", "regards" or "best wishes?"
The
proper way to sign off is often not only the last, but also one of the most
difficult parts of an email (almost as difficult as the greeting). When you can't decide what to write and have no idea what's
appropriate, end your message with a simple thanks. That is never out of place.
To
read previous editions of this series, please visit our newsletter archives:
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/etiquette.html
**************************************************************
Featured Computer Term: Undo
Ooops! I clicked something
that I should not have clicked!
Whatever
you do, your computer can Undo.
As
soon as you realize you made a mistake, find Undo and click on it. By clicking
on Undo, you will reverse your last action -whatever it was. If you erased a
paragraph, Undo will restore it. If you moved part of a picture, Undo will put
it back to where it originally was.
Almost
every Windows program has an Undo feature.
You
can usually find undo in several places; you have your choice. Some programs
have an undo button on the toolbar (look for a counterclockwise arrow). If the
program you’re using doesn’t have it on
the toolbar, you’ll find it in the Edit menu. A shortcut to access Undo
is to hold down the Ctrl button on the keyboard and press Z to Undo the most recent change.
Is there a computer term or phrase that you'd like to see
an explanation of? Email it to
info@computerkindergarten.com and we'll put the term
and its definition in an upcoming newsletter.
**************************************************************
Today's Topic: Speed Up a Slow
Computer – Disable Indexing Services
As
your Windows computer ages, its speed can decrease. You will notice an increase in response
time when you give commands to open programs, files or folders, use the
Internet and other tasks. There are several things you can do to speed up your computer.
In
our ongoing series, Speed Up a Slow Computer, we will
present articles discussing some of the steps you can take to speed up your
slow computer.
Important: Before making any changes to your
system, always create a Restore Point.
If anything goes wrong with the changes you make, this will allow you to
revert back to a point when the computer was operating
correctly. Please visit our
Newsletter Archives to read our article, All About
Restore Points:
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/040509.html
Disable
Indexing Services
Indexing
Services is a small program that uses a lot of memory and can significantly
slow your computer down. This program lists and indexes all of the files that
are on your computer. When you search for a file, the computer looks through
the indexed list to find what you want. If you do not search for files very
often, or even if you do search often, this system service is unnecessary and
really does not speed up the search process all that much.
To
disable Indexing Services, follow these steps:
Windows
XP
Click
Start
Open
Control Panel
Open
Add/Remove Programs
Click
Add/Remove Window Components
Click
to Uncheck Indexing services
Click
Next and follow the prompts to complete.
Windows
Vista
Click
Start
Open
Control Panel
Open
System and Maintenance
Open
Administrative Tools
Open
Services. If User Account Control asks for permission, click Continue.
In
the name column, scroll down to Windows Search. Right click on Windows Search, and then
click Properties on menu that appears.
The
Windows Search Properties window will now appear. Look for the Startup type section. To the right of Automatic is a small
down arrow. Click on it. Click Disabled.
Click
the OK button and close all windows.
After
the computer is restarted, Indexing Services will no
longer be running. If you wish to
enable this program in the future, follow the above steps to do so.
In
our next edition, Optimize Display Settings
Please
visit our Newsletter Archives for previous articles in our Speed Up a Slow Computer series:
Speed
Up a Slow Computer - Clean the Desktop
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/040509.html
Speed
Up a Slow Computer - Uninstall Unused Programs
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/041909.html
Speed
Up a Slow Computer – Turn Off Auto Start Programs
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/042609.html
Speed
Up a Slow Computer – Turn Off Auto Start
Programs - MSCONFIG
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/050309.html
Speed
Up a Slow Computer – Disable Unnecessary Windows Services
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/051009.html
Speed
Up a Slow Computer – Defrag
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/051709.html
**************************************************************
Question: Internet
Abbreviations
I frequently Instant Message with my grandchildren. Could you provide an explanation of the
abbreviations they use? I cannot figure some of them out.
Answer:
Here
are some of the more commonly used abbreviations:
BRB
– be right back
AFK
– away from keyboard (I am gone for a few minutes)
BTW
– by the way
TTYL
– talk to you later
BFN
– bye for now
TTFN
– ta-ta for now
BFF
– best friends forever
CYA
– see ya (or it could also be: cover your a*s)
CUL8R
– see you later
IMHO
– in my humble opinion
LOL
– laughing out loud
ROFL
– rolling on floor laughing
RTM
– read the manual
THX
- thanks
TX
- thanks
TY
- thank you
NP
- no problem/you're welcome
PLZ
- please
**************************************************************
Websites of Interest:
How
to Garden Guide
Visit
this site for great vegetable gardening tips.
http://howtogardenguide.com/
Free
Shipping
type in the name of the website where you want to
shop, and get a list of codes you can enter for free shipping.
http://www.freeshipping.org/
Public
Radio Fan
Public radio stations and programs all around the world.
http://publicradiofan.com/
Shutterfly
Store
and share your digital photos, free.
http://www.shutterfly.com/
Fifteen Ways to Save Money Online:
8. Shop Online, Online Shopping with Comparison Shopping Search Engines
From
Wendy Boswell of about.com
No
matter what your financial situation may be, it is always a good idea to learn
new ways to save money. Find out how you can utilize the power of the Web to
save money, find good deals, and improve your financial status.
8.
Shop Online, Online Shopping with Comparison Shopping Search Engines
Comparison
shopping search engines not only find the item you're
looking for, but they give you a list of comparison prices in order for you to
find a discount, compare prices from competitors, and finally make a purchase.
Here are some of the best comparison shopping search
sites on the Web.
ComparisonEngines.com:
Brian Smith's very detailed yet refreshingly readable
site on comparison engines. "Through interviews with key players, guest
commentary, case studies, analysis of news and events, and comparisons of
features, readers will gain an in depth understanding of online comparison
engines, a rapidly growing facet of online shopping."
OrganizedShopping.com:Sean O'Rourke's excellent
and extremely organized site on anything and everything to do with shopping and
search. Make sure to check out the sitemap; this is where you'll
find the entire contents of this extremely large and informational site.
http://www.organizedshopping.com
PriceGrabber is a excellent
choice for anyone who wants to find something quickly with a minimum of fuss. Pricegrabber's simple layout and fast delivery of results
makes it very easy to find, compare, and buy.
http://www.pricegrabber.com/
CNet Shopper
For
the geeks in your life, CNet Shopper is a must-have
bookmark for anything to do with technology. Includes
"comprehensive product information, specs, professional reviews, and
tech-savvy user reviews."
http://shopper.cnet.com/
Not
only can you compare prices for any product you're
looking for at NexTag, but you can also compare
mortgages, travel, cars and more.
http://www.nextag.com/
Compare
prices on all sorts of good stuff, from apparel to movies to watches and more.
One unique thing about PriceScan is that they do not
take money from vendors in order to appear on PriceScan's
pages: "At PriceSCAN we believe that consumers
should have access to unbiased reporting on products and prices. It seems
obvious to us that if a price guide restricts its listings to those vendors who
have paid to be included, then its database more accurately reflects the source
of its revenue, not necessarily the best
products at the lowest prices. At PriceSCAN we accept
no money from any vendors for listing their products and prices."
http://www.pricescan.com/
BottomDollar.com is owned by PriceGrabber. One thing I
particularly appreciate about BottomDollar is after
you click on the results, say for a SanDisk 1GB Memory Stick PRO Duo Card, you
can enter in your zip code in order to get savings on shipping (who knows, you
might find a deal close enough to drive to).
http://www1.bottomdollar.com/
BestWebBuys.com
allows you to search "thousands of online stores" in order to find
the best web buy (hence the name). According to the site, "some of the
stores give additional discounts to Best Web Buys customers." Worth a look.
http://www.bestwebbuys.com
With
an extensive product comparison index, SortPrice is a
great shopping search engine, with a unique feature: Shop, Drag, and Drop,
"an innovative tool used to compare products that allows
consumers to maintain a virtual shopping list while navigating through millions
of products from thousands of online stores. By dragging the selected products
into an easy to use shopping list, those products can then be compared side by
side, providing useful product information to help shoppers make a more
informative buying decision."
http://www.sortprice.com/
Tip: Some websites may require you to
register to use their features.
When you register at websites, you may be signing up for spam (junk
mail) if the recipient sells email addresses to spammers. There is a way to avoid this and still
be able to take advantage of the great things that site has to offer. Read our article, Minimizing Spam
– Registering Online, at our newsletter archives, to learn how use
websites without getting junk mail.
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/111608.html
Next
Edition: Shop Locally
Please
visit our newsletter archives for previous articles in our Fifteen Ways to Save
Money Online series:
http://computerkindergarten.com/html/savemoney.html